Non-governmental Organisations

According to the author’s findings, Czech NGOs perceived mainly four defining aspects of the Czech foreign policy during the migration crisis: (1) little-to-no signs of solidarity in combination with a lack of understanding of the situation; (2) the promotion of the government’s own interests, namely the preservation of the Czech culture and intrastate safety; (3) the resolution of the crisis solely through financial aid and outside the Czech borders; (4) Czechia’s tight cooperation with the V4 countries, which was expressed by their common critique of the EU and Angela Merkel. With regard to the aforementioned perspectives, the Czech foreign policy predominantly showed features of Sovereignism and the Regional Collaborator role. Conversely, the NGOs’ perspectives regarding the preferred foreign policy during the time of the crisis stressed (1) the importance of human rights, especially the rights of refugees to international protection, (2) the need for solidarity and shared responsibilities, and (3) respect for binding international treaties and applicable legal mechanisms (e.g. the Dublin mechanism). Thus, they had the features of a Democracy Supporter role and Europeanism.